In the final year of the Bowl Championship Series, the Rose, Sugar, and Orange Bowls each saw increases over last year.
Entering Monday’s championship game, the 2014 Bowl Championship Series has averaged an 8.2 rating and 14.3 million viewers on ESPN, up 12% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (7.3, 12.5M).
The Michigan State/Stanford Rose Bowl earned the top audience of the BCS slate, with a 10.2 U.S. rating and 18.6 million viewers on ESPN New Year’s Day — up 9% in ratings and viewership from Stanford/Wisconsin last year (9.4, 17.0M), and flat and up 6%, respectively, from TCU/Wisconsin in 2011 (10.2, 17.6M). Despite the increase, the game tied the second-lowest rating ever for the Rose Bowl.
Ranking second among BCS games, Thursday’s Oklahoma/Alabama Sugar Bowl earned a 9.3 U.S. rating and 16.3 million viewers — up 50% in ratings and 61% in viewership from Louisville/Florida last year (6.2, 10.1M), and up 53% and 68%, respectively, from Michigan/Virginia Tech in 2011 (6.1, 9.7M). Excluding national championship games, Oklahoma/Alabama tied the highest Sugar Bowl rating since 2005 (9.5) and earned the largest audience for the game since 2001 (19.8M).
The Orange Bowl did not perform nearly as well, but still managed to eke out an increase despite competition from the Cotton Bowl. The Clemson/Ohio State game drew a 6.7 U.S. rating and 11.4 million viewers on ESPN Friday night, up 10% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Florida State/Northern Illinois last year (6.1, 10.6M), and up 48% and 59%, respectively, from West Virginia/Clemson in 2011 (4.5, 7.2M). Despite the relatively low numbers, the game was the most-viewed Orange Bowl since 2008.
Bringing up the rear, the UCF/Baylor Fiesta Bowl drew a 6.6 U.S. rating and 11.2 million viewers Tuesday night, down 11% in ratings and 9% in viewership from Oregon/Kansas State last year (7.4, 12.3M), and down 21% and 18%, respectively, from Oklahoma State/Stanford in 2011 (8.4, 13.6M). The game earned the second-lowest rating and viewership for the Fiesta Bowl in the BCS era, ahead of only Oklahoma/Connecticut in 2010 (6.2, 10.8M).
Overall, the Orange and Fiesta Bowls rank among the ten lowest rated BCS bowls of all time.
